[Federal Register: April 18, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 73)]
[Notices]
[Page 20163]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18ap05-77]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Safe Harbor Agreement and Receipt of Application for an
Enhancement of Survival Permit Associated With the Restoration of
Habitat and Reintroduction of Utah Prairie Dogs on a Ranch in Garfield
County, UT
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Mr. Allen Henrie (Applicant) has applied to the Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service) for an Enhancement of Survival Permit (ESP)
for the Utah prairie dog pursuant to section 10(a)1(A) of the
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), as amended (Act).
This permit application includes a Safe Harbor Agreement (SHA) between
the Applicant, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR), and the
Service. The proposed SHA and permit would become effective upon
signature of the SHA and issuance of the permit and would remain in
effect for 40 years. We have made the determination that the proposed
activities described in the application and SHA will improve prairie
dog habitat and potentially establish a colony of prairie dogs on
private land and that, therefore, it is categorically excluded under
516 DM 8.5 C. (1) of the Department of the Interior's Manual. This
notice is provided pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) and section 10 of the Act and the Service's Safe Harbor Policy
(64 FR 32717). The Service requests information, views, and opinions
from the public via this notice. Further, the Service is soliciting
information regarding the adequacy of the SHA as measured against the
Service's Safe Harbor Policy and the regulations that implement it.
DATES: Written comments on the permit application must be received on
or before July 18, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Persons wishing to review the SHA and the ESP application
may obtain a copy by writing the Service's Mountain-Prairie Regional
Office, Denver, Colorado. Documents also will be available for public
inspection during normal business hours at the Regional Office, 134
Union Boulevard, Denver Colorado 80228-1807, or the Utah Field Office,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2369 West Orton Circle, West Valley
City, Utah 84119. Written data or comments concerning the SHA or ESP
application should be submitted to the Regional Office and must be in
writing to be processed. Comments must be submitted in writing to be
adequately considered in the Service's decision-making process. Please
reference permit number TE098809-0 in your comments, or in the request
for the documents discussed herein.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pat Mehlhop, Regional Safe Harbor
Coordinator (see ADDRESSES), telephone, 303-236-4215, or Henry Maddux,
Utah Field Supervisor (see ADDRESSES), telephone 801-975-3330.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Utah prairie dog (UPD) is the
westernmost member of the genus Cynomys. The species' range, which is
limited to the southwestern quarter of Utah, is the most restricted of
all prairie dog species in the United States. Distribution of the UPD
has been greatly reduced due to disease (plague), poisoning, drought,
and human-related habitat alteration. Protection of this species and
enhancement of its habitat on private land will benefit recovery
efforts.
The primary objective of this SHA is to encourage voluntary
conservation measures and translocation efforts to benefit the species
and the landowner. Through this agreement, the landowner will receive
relief from any additional section 9 liability under the Act beyond
that which exists at the time the agreement is signed (``regulatory
baseline''). To benefit the UPD, foraging and visual surveillance
habitat will be enhanced by thinning decadent stands of brush and by
increasing forage quantity and quality using mechanical and herbicidal
treatments and reseeding native grasses and forbs. In cooperation with
the UDWR, UPDs will be released on the property after the habitat
improvements have been completed. The habitat improvements will be
maintained throughout the term of the permit through managed grazing,
additional brush treatments if necessary, and to some degree by the
UPDs themselves. The Cooperator will receive an ESP that authorizes
implementation of the conservation actions and other provisions of this
Agreement and authorizes incidental take and limited direct take of the
covered species above the Cooperator's baseline responsibilities, as
defined in the SHA.
The Service has evaluated the impacts of this action under NEPA and
determined that it warrants categorical exclusion as described in 516
DM 8.5 C.(1). The Service will evaluate whether the issuance of the ESP
complies with section 7 of the Act by conducting an intra-Service
section 7 consultation on the issuance of the permit. The result of the
biological opinion, in combination with the above finding and any
public comments will be used in the final analysis to determine whether
or not to issue the requested ESP, pursuant to the regulations that
guide issuance of the type of permit.
Authority: The authority for this action is the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.).
Dated: March 25, 2005.
Elliott Sutta,
Acting Regional Director, Denver, Colorado.
[FR Doc. 05-7676 Filed 4-15-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P